Stained Glass Butterfly

Lower Alexandria Gardens, afternoon

The note was folded into the shape of a small bird, with a line of finely printed text suggesting one unfolds the bird.

Inside, there is a bit more explanatory text.

Hi! Meet me in the lower gardens! Want some help with something! Please?

It's signed with a small, smiling Goblin face.

The Goblin herself is not too difficult to find. Her red gi contrasts with the overwhelming green of the gardens. She on all fours, under some shrubbery, glancing around ahead of her, as if trying to find something.

Harshad doesn't come here often. In fact, the last time he was here it was stumbling out of the Soldier's Defense after getting pummeled on a guild job. But hey, Choler's a friend, and so the half orc comes walking down the path. For a change, he's not wearing his armored coat, and his sole concession to defense is the main-gauche sheathed at his back. Dressed in a sleeveless workman's tunic, trousers, and scuffed boots, he looks more like a day laborer than an adventurer.

"Choler," he says, reaching up to rub a tusk bemusedly as he watches the goblin shuffle around in the shrubbery. "...Did you drop something in there?"

The Goblin gives a little start, so intent was her concentration that Harshad easily 'sneaks' up on her. Holding a finger to her lips, she gestures for him to duck down.

"I'm looking for one of those crystal butterflies.", she whispers. "I really would like one. And, you've seen them before, so, you might know uh if they like certain flowers or something?" Her eyes go wide, much like a puppy's, and she says in a soft, scratchy, sing-song voice. "Please help me catch one?"

Harshad furrows his heavy brows. "Yeah, but... that was Lady Luck's doing that I caught that one last time. Hold on, lemme think..." He sits down crosslegged, propping his chin on his hand. "What was I doing last time? I was looking at a stone I'd picked up... wait. Hmmm..."

He looks at Choler. "Maybe they're attracted to shiny rocks, gems, that sort of thing? I had a chunk of quartz, but I don't know if I've still got it -- I hung onto it 'cause some wizards use that stuff for spells..." He begins rummaging around in his satchel.

Choler listens intently, nodding slightly. "Shiny things, you say?" She, too starts to dig through her pouch.

"Would a thunderstone be shiny enough?", she asks, as she pulls two of said objects from her backpack. "Are they fast, these little critters? Can you catch them with your bare hand?"

Harshad hmmms. "They're not any faster than most bugs. They're heavy, though -- I guess they fly 'cause they're magical. I wore gloves, but I don't think they're dangerous." He cocks his head. "What're you gonna do with one? Someone looking to liven up their garden?"

He finally pulls out a cream-colored rock about the size of a child's fist. "Here we go. Maybe this'll lure a couple over." He quirks an eyebrow at the offered thunderstones. "Probably a bad idea. The boom might break 'em. Let's use this."

"Well they won't explode... wait, are they heavy enough to set one off, you think?" Her eyes widen. "How heavy are they?"

The thunderstones are carefully stored in her pouch again, and she eyes the cream-coloured rock. An envious look passes over her expression, before she blink. She looks away a moment, "Oh, I just wanted one to.." Her voice trails off, making the last bit hard to hear. Choler's gaze starts to flit around again, as if the stone would draw them immediately, like a magnet.

Harshad sets the chunk of quartz atop a larger rock in the middle of a flower bed, before moving back. "Now," he whispers. "Let's wait. We may be here a while. Just... watch and keep an eye out." It doesn't help that there are actual butterflies flitting here and there throughout the gardens, occasionally alighting before taking off again.

"Heavier than those regular bugs," he whispers. "Fortunately they don't bite or nothin'. They're just hard and they'll kinda bat against your hands at first."

Choler mirrors Harshad's movements, backing away, and staring at the other butterflies that gather. She ends up laying upon her stomach, her chin resting on a hand. "So how do these sorts of creatures ... come about? Someone breeding them and they got out a window or something?"

Her bare feet sway back and forth behind her. "I have some jerky in my pouch, if you're hungry I can share. It's fresh too. Just perfect."

Harshad shrugs. "Askin' the wrong guy, Choler. You wanna know the best way to case a house or move loot, I can probably help. This? Might as well ask the butterflies. They probably know more about it than I do." He scratches his goatee, taking a breath.

"A snack wouldn't hurt. There's a waterskin in my bag if you get thirsty. I'm happy to share." His eyes track back and forth. "Which reminds me. Got a line on a certain fellow's house. Interested in seeing what's behind closed doors?"

The Goblin carefully fishes through her pouch, pulling out a crinkly wax paper roll. Unrolling it reveals several pieces of jerky. A heavy, meaty scent is noticeable as she hands two over to Harshad. "I'm okay for now.", she whispers, "But I'll keep it in mind. Hopefully we won't be here so long that we start to dehydrate."

Her stomach gurgles noisily then, and she quickly snarfs down one of the pieces of jerky herself. "MMmmph. Deer. Always an interesting flavour, especially with the spices they use."

Harshad takes the jerky, and lets his eyes slide back to where the quartz is sitting. "Gods, I hope nobody comes by. Imagine trying to explain what we're doing. Probably get carted off to wherever they take adventurers who've lost their marbles after one too many fights with demons."

He munches on the jerky, taking his time. A butterfly flits past, causing him to blink, but then he shakes his head. "Nope. Wait to see if one goes for the bait." A pause. "Though this is the weirdest bait I've ever used..."

Her expression is one of puzzlement, and she reaches over to whap his shoulder with a light punch. "You think a couple of people sprawled out in the gardens is /the strangest thing adventurers/ have ever done?"

The Goblin's quiet a few moments.

"Yes. I am interested in seeing what's behind closed doors. Any rumours as to what's behind the doors? Neat stuff? Art? Food?" Another stomach gurgle. "Ancient treasures robbed from decrepit tombs half buried in sand, literally crawling with undead?"

"Hells, I don't know. I'm new to this shit." Harshad settles down again, waiting patiently -- or trying to. "Wish they'd hurry up. I think they go dormant after the sun goes down."

He smirks. "Well, I'm thinking a certain fellow might have money, but... y'know, if we find more stuff, well, be a shame if it fell into our bags. You know how that is." He ponders. "We'll have to be careful though. Pretty sure he's not gonna like being robbed blind."

Choler looks a little panicked at that, time is slipping by and no sign of a crystalline butterfly yet. She sighs and pouts lightly. "I.. just wanted one for my hair.", the Goblin says quietly. "I think it'd look... pretty."

Her ears perk up a little bit at the mention of money. "Well, what if we don't rob him blind? What if we just ... skim a little off the top? And stop by every so often to see how he's doing?"

Harshad turns to look at Choler bemusedly. "You... okay, I'm not gonna argue. How do you plan to keep it there though? I don't even know if you can kill the things, aside from breaking them." He sighs. "Ah well, not my problem--" He breaks off, and silently points with a fingertip only.

Among the orange and black butterflies fluttering around the garden is something else. It's the same size, but the coloration is deep blue and green and it catches the sunlight oddly. It flutters past the flowers, and the two goblinfolk, to finally settle on the chunk of quartz.

GAME: Choler rolls stealth: (5)+15: 20

<OOC> Choler says, "To inform le pose."

The Goblin just stares, following the outstretched finger to the colourful, shiny butterfly. "I'll tie it to one of my hairs.", she says, distractedly. "Or maybe make a little leash? Perhaps have it in a box?" Carefully, she gets to her hands and knees, and begins to stalk slowly forward, a few inches at a time.

"They're quite pretty.", she whispers.

For the moment, the crystalline butterfly seems content to perch on the quartz. What's it doing? Who knows. It simply sits there, opening its wings back and forth a few times. It looks almost like a piece of a stained-glass window that popped off and took flight.

"Careful," Harshad warns. "You got something to put it in?" Honestly, if he'd known he'd be doing this, he'd have brought a jar or something. "I doubt they need water or anything..."

Very slowly, Choler approaches. Her joys seems to grow as she closes in on the stained-glass critter. She's almost within striking distance when she pauses. And waits. And watches.

"No.", she whispers. "I'll catch it with my bare hands."

She reaches out her hand, slowly, slowly, palm first. Moving it so that it creates an extension of the cream-coloured rock. And then goes still. Waiting once more.

This close, it's remarkable how close it looks to a real butterfly -- albeit one made of glass. Hair-thin antennae wave back and forth, and its legs are delicate as it shifts around on the chunk of quartz. Ever so often, the wings brush against the quartz, but it doesn't flee from Choler. Does it not recognize her? Perhaps. Insects aren't known for their intelligence, and these strange creatures don't seem that different.

"Nice and slow, Choler," Harshad's voice is quiet, barely a whisper. "You're almost there. If you want to keep the quartz, go for it. It might help you keep it around."

It's almost as if the Goblin is holding her breath as she takes in the finer details. Her other hand stretches out, and delicately tries to herd the butterfly onto her waiting hand.

"I.. think I will feel bad keeping it. But... it's very pretty." Her voice is low, not quite a whisper, but not quite conversational tone either. "How did you keep yours?"

The crystalline butterfly flexes its wings for a moment, as if planning to take off. But the sun is setting, and evidently that's more energy than it wants to expend. So instead it carefully steps onto Choler's hand, a delicate objet d'art that lives.

"I put mine in a jar I had, and made sure it was exposed to sunlight till I could drop it off with the buyer. I think he keeps his in his conservatory." He shrugs. "Wizards are weird. There's some lunatic who built a damn two story greenhouse in the university district. Looks like a grain silo."

Choler seems entirely enraptured by the crystalline critter as it walks onto her hand. She can't resist a little giggle. "It tickles.", she says with gleeful note. "You're right, it is much heavier than expected." She lets out a lengthy sigh. "I want to keep it... but I feel bad about doing so. This is wonderful."

She eyes Harshad a moment. "I don't know. A greenhouse is useful, you can grow things that wouldn't normally grow. You could get hot peppers year round, I hear." She holds the butterfly up closer to her face, eyeing it carefully.

"If it wasn't seemingly made from glass, I would swear it was an actual butterfly. I can even see the little hairs on its body."

Harshad shrugs. "It's a butterfly. Granted, it's pretty, and unusual, but... eh. We don't even know where they come from, though considering all the weird shit that happens here, I'm surprised the city isn't even stranger."

"The guy I sold it to thought it might be some kind of elemental, though he had no idea how they'd even get into the city. I didn't follow his explanation but the gist of it is that some spells just don't -work- here inside city limits. Not something I usually worry about, but it's good to know."

The Goblin gasps as the creature simply walks from her hand onto her face, ascending to the lofty height of her forehead. She laughs in surprise, and then sighs as it flaps its wings once again, taking to the air and drifting away one stained-glass wings. Choler seems... content. Happy.

"The city is what it is, as they say. There's a lot of amazing things to be found here." She walks over to Harshad, giving him a whap on his arm. "Some of them come in Oruch form."